


take my hand (wreck my plans)

by AtLoLevad



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Romance, like we all haven't had enough of those lol, past present future au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:00:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29842563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtLoLevad/pseuds/AtLoLevad
Summary: PPF AU - Tony goes back to Israel, unable to really leave Ziva behind.
Relationships: Ziva David/Anthony DiNozzo
Comments: 5
Kudos: 35





	take my hand (wreck my plans)

Tony is back in the bull pen for all of three days when it happens. He's combing through the financial records of their latest victim, looking for discrepancies, when it strikes him.

He left her behind.

He let her convince him to leave her behind.

Suddenly, and startling Gibbs and McGee, Tony shoves his chair back from his desk, the chair colliding with the filing cabinets behind him and the noise echoing against the orange walls. The other two men look up from their desks, Gibbs's face barely conveying any emotion and McGee's eyebrows nearly in his hairline from surprise.

"What the hell am I doing here?" Tony loudly asks, his words not directed at anyone in particular.

"Working," Gibbs says shortly, in a worse mood than usual since Tony had returned stateside without Ziva.

Tony blinks, a little stupidly, and shakes his head. "No, I need to...I'm an idiot! I left her in Israel. What the hell am I doing here?" he mutters this last question to himself and shakes his head. "I have to...I need to leave."

"Again?" McGee blurts out, drawing Tony's attention.

"Yeah," Tony says, looking both stunned and determined. "I've gotta go back to her. I can't believe I was so stupid. She's alone over there and she thinks that's what she deserves."

The corner of Gibbs's mouth twists up into a smirk. Or maybe it's a smile, Tony's not really focused on it right now. He's gathering up his keys and phone and wallet and muttering to himself.

McGee looks over at Gibbs, clearly waiting for their boss to get up and smack some sense into Tony, literally. When it's clear that Gibbs is going to do nothing and Tony's halfway to the elevator, Tim stands up and jogs after Tony, catching up with him easily.

"Hey, Tony," he says, still startled by the sudden announcement. Tony looks over at him, an eyebrow raised in silent question. Tim frowns briefly, really seeing the determination in Tony's eyes and course-correcting on what he was about to say. "I'll book you on the first flight out of Dulles," Tim says, reaching out to clasp Tony's upper arm in support.

"Thank, Tim," Tony says quietly, sincerely. "I'll, uh, let you know when I land."

"Just tell Ziva I say hi," Tim replies with a small smile. "I miss her."

* * *

Tony lands at Ben Guiron airport 17 hours after he initially made his decision in the bullpen. His body is protesting the 12 hours spent crammed in his seat and a headache is throbbing behind his right eye, but his heart feels lighter than it has in weeks.

Ziva has no idea he's coming - he hadn't wanted to run the risk of her protesting and rejecting him - so Tony grabs his hastily packed suitcase and steps out into the warm Israeli air to hail a cab. He rests back against the seat, settling in for the hour-long car ride. Tony's leg bounces with nervous excitement and he scrubs a hand over his face to try and get rid of the jet lag before it even hits. His phone vibrates in his pocket and Tony checks the screen, seeing multiple notifications come in from Abby. He winces and pockets the phone, ignoring her for now. Tony almost feels bad for Tim, who's definitely going to be on the receiving end of Abby's annoyance that Tony left without saying a word, but all his mind can really focus on is the face that he'll be seeing Ziva again soon.

"You going to be sick?" the cab driver asks suddenly, breaking Tony's train of thought.

"Huh? What? No," he stumbles for a reply. "I just flew in from D.C."

"You look like you are going to be sick," the other man's accent is just like Ziva's and Tony can't help but smile.

He shakes his head. "Love sick, maybe. I'm going to see my - " he trails off. There's never been a word for what Ziva is to him, no one word encompasses everything she means to him.

Luckily, the cab driver fills in the blanks. He sighs, "ah, it is a woman. She is special, then? For you to fly across the world."

"Very special," Tony says quietly.

"Make sure you tell her that," the man lifts his right hand off the steering wheel, a gold wedding band glinting in the fading sunlight. "I tell my wife she is special to me every day. Forty-five years we have been married."

Tony's eyes widen slightly. "Congrats," he says sincerely. "I only hope she'll have me for that long."

"You fly across the world for her? She will have you," the driver says solemnly, firmly, and then says nothing else until he stops the car in the little town Tony directed him to. When Tony gets out of the car, the driver whistles to get his attention. " _Ani ohev otkha_ ," he says, the Hebrew sounding both foreign and familiar to Tony's ears.

"What's that mean?" Tony asks, leaning against the open car window.

The older man's eyes twinkle. "You tell your girl that, and she will tell you what it means."

Tony repeats the phrase three times before the cabbie is happy with his pronunciation and waves him away.

And then, very suddenly, Tony's left on the road alone with his suitcase and the excitement of seeing Ziva again.

* * *

The look of shock on Ziva's face is nearly comical, but Tony's just too damn excited to see her to find it funny.

"Hi," he says, one side of his mouth curling up in a smile.

"Tony," Ziva breathes his name and wow, he's forgotten how much he loves hearing her voice say his name. "What are — why are you —?" She can't seem to find words.

Recalling words he said to her a lifetime and a continent ago, Tony replies, "Couldn't live without you, I guess," the words just as true in this moment as they were in a Somali prison camp.

"Tony," now his name is said on a gasp that turns into a sob, Ziva pressing her fist against her mouth to muffle the noise.

"I'm serious, Ziva," he says firmly. "I couldn't be in D.C knowing you were here, alone, punishing yourself. I don't care if you don't speak to me, I'm staying."

Ziva's eyes fill with tears. She shakes her head. "I said good-bye to you, Tony. I said good-bye and I meant it," she finally finds the words.

He shrugs. "Yeah, well, you know I'm a terrible listener."

Without waiting for her to say anything else, Tony steps forward and cups her cheeks in his hands. He smiles, "I'm about to really put a lot of trust in a random Israeli can driver, but _ani ohev otkha,_ Ziva."

Her eyebrows rise at his pronunciation or maybe at the words themselves. "Do you know what that means, Tony?" she whispers.

"I have a hunch," his eyes twinkle. "Confirm it for me."

Ziva rises up on her toes, pressing her lips to his in a soft kiss. Against his mouth, her eyes still closed, she breathes, "I love you, too."

* * *

Two months later, Ziva corners Tony in the bathroom, crowding him against the counter, an enigmatic smile on her face.

He points his toothbrush in her face, squinting. "I've seen that expression before. I don't like that expression," he says warily.

"Mhm," Ziva hums, curling her hands in the collar of his t-shirt. "I have...news."

"News?" Tony repeats, sticking the toothbrush back in his mouth.

"News," Ziva confirms with a nod. "I am...not sure how you are going to take this."

Interest piqued, Tony spits out the toothpaste and braces his hands against the counter. "Hit me," he says.

"I am pregnant," Ziva says softly, curling one hand around Tony's jaw and letting the other slip down to rest flat against his chest.

"With a baby?"

"Unless I have been abducted by aliens like that Sully woman," Ziva wrinkles her nose, not having particularly enjoyed The X-Files.

"Scully," Tony corrects her absently and then shakes his head, an incredulous smile spreading on his face. "A baby? Seriously?"

Ziva nods in confirmation and then lets out a surprised gasp when Tony ducks his head and kisses her deeply, cradling the back of her head and dipping her a little. They're both a little breathless when they break apart.

"You are happy then?" she asks and Tony nods.

"Not like we've ever done anything conventionally," he chuckles. "Why start now?"

He's smiling, but there's a little bit of tightness in the corners of his eyes. For all intents and purposes, their relationship is new, despite the ten years of history they share. A baby throws a wrench in the plans, as they settle into life together, still not really having decided what they're going to do going forward or where they'll end up living.

Ziva can't help but feel like she's wrecked everything before it can even start.

As if he's read her mind, Tony reaches down and takes her hand, lacing their fingers together. He looks down at their hands and then up into her eyes. "Hey," he says softly, "don't get too up here," he taps her temple with his free hand. "This is a good thing," he squeezes her fingers, "we're partners, remember. We can handle anything together."

"Yes, but," Ziva starts, anxiety creeping into her voice.

"New country, new start, right?" Tony reminds her.

Ziva's free hand rests against her stomach, fingers tapping lightly against at space that has yet to begin swelling with life. Her stomach flips with anxiety, but Tony's fingers laced with hers ground her.

"The perfect fresh start," she murmurs, lifting her chin to kiss Tony gently.

**Author's Note:**

> evermore is literally where im getting all of my fic titles from here on out lol. but honestly, i have no idea where this fic came from, but it's very obviously an au version of ppf and in my mind, what should've happened. i just want these two idiots to be happy and that includes tali because OF COURSE she exists even in an au where tony goes back to israel and knocks some sense into ziva. let me know what you think :)


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